Group leader and Grand Rapids businessman Dick DeVos confirmed the news in an interview with The Press today saying his group got involved after a "prominent" West Michigan resident who had a "personal relationship" with AirTran executives approached them about moving service into Grand Rapids.

DeVos would not name the individual, but said that initial contact jump started talks.

"The door opened a crack and we kicked our way in," DeVos said.

DeVos said AirTran has considered Grand Rapids before, but were concerned about being able to fill airplanes in this market.

"What they had not seen was a regional perspective and we gave them some assurance (that business leaders were willing to help them be successful," DeVos said.

Airport Director Jim Koslosky said airport leaders had been trying to lure AirTran for years.

"They were always nervous that the market in Grand Rapids would not support it," Koslosky said.

Flights: Serves destinations throughout the United States including, Orlando, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Ariz., San Diego, Calif., Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Minneapolis, New York, and Cancun, Mexico, and the island of Aruba.

Koslosky said airport officials hope to use AirTran's entrance into the market as a way to get the seven long-time "legacy" airlines that operate out of Grand Rapids to lower their fares. Currently, the U.S. Department of Transportation ranks commercial air fares in Grand Rapids among the top five most expensive.

"Now we can get some respect from our incumbent carriers," Koslosky said. "We've been abused by the legacy carriers."

AirTran currently operates out of airports in Detroit and Flint.

Today, parent company AirTran Holdings Inc. released a report show it posted a profit of $17.1 million, or 11 cents a share, for the final quarter of 2009. That's compared to a loss of $121.6 million, or $1.03 a share, in the same period of 2008.

Revenue rose 1.5 percent to $598.4 million from $589.4 million.

For the year, AirTran's profit of $134.7 million was a record. That was equivalent to 95 cents a share, compared to a loss of $266.3 million, or $2.44 a share, for 2008. Revenue fell to $2.34 billion from $2.55 billion in 2008. Larger rivals like Delta Air Lines and American Airlines lost money in 2009. AirTran, based in Orlando, Fla., has low costs that allow it to cut ticket prices and still make money. It ended 2009 with $543 million in unrestricted cash on hand.

-- Press Business Editor Nancy Crawley and The Associated Press contributed to this report.